[Kinds of home accidents]

A survey on hospitalization due to domestic accidents conducted in Padua in three public hospitals shows that between 1979 and 1988 there were 12.251 cases. Women in particular seemed to be affected by the phenomenon (7.926 cases, 64.7% of total) especially if aged 45 years or over (6.382 hospitalizations). Home injuries among females are the second cause of hospitalization due to trauma and represent the leading cause of accidental deaths (355 cases during the period of the survey). Lethality of this kind of injury progressively increases starting from the ages 30-44, and reaches 7.1% in older people (60 years or over). The causes of these accidents have been analyzed in 197 cases of fatal domestic accidents during the five years 1984 to 1988 and in 277 cases of non fatal accidents that involved subjects between the ages of 15 and 59 during the years 1986. In both situations the most frequent cause was falling (132 fatal, 159 non fatal cases); this finding shows the importance of a primary prevention programme based on the improvement of domestic structures and more care in furniture planning. The second place both among fatal and non fatal injuries belongs to burns (21 fatal and 17 non fatal). These frequently arise from incorrect behavior and emphasize in this way the necessity of improving sanitary education. A great number of home accidents (33 hospitalizations), can be attributed to bad working instruments or absence of security devices. This all shows the necessity of specific security regulations regarding installations and utensils of domestic use.